Denver becomes the first city to decriminalize hallucinogenic mushrooms

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About 50.5 percent of voters supported the ordinance, while 49.4 percent were against, election officials said.

The results will not be formalized until May 16th.

The text of the order seeks to "minimize, as far as possible, the priorities" of the criminal penalties imposed by the City of Denver "for personal use and personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms".

The city is about to establish a "policy review committee to evaluate the effects of the order and report back" in accordance with the requirements of the initiative.

A range of mushroom species naturally contains the psilocybin compound, which possesses hallucinogenic properties. The US Department of Justice has listed psilocybin as a controlled substance in Schedule I, which means that official federal policy states that mushrooms do not have medicinal properties.

Although mushrooms are not legalized, the ordinance "would prohibit the city from spending resources to impose penal sanctions" on those who would have them.

Drugs have long been popular for recreational use. However, a growing body of medical research shows that psilocybin can treat conditions such as anxiety and depression, in cases where drugs currently on the market can not.

For example, a 2017 study published in the journal Nature found that 47% of patients with treatment-resistant depression had a positive response five weeks after receipt of psilocybin therapy.
And in 2018, researchers at Johns Hopkins University called for the removal of psilocybin from the list of substances in Schedule I.

Denver led the nation in the evolution of drug policy

Kevin Matthews, Decriminalize Denver campaign manager, organized the basic effort to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms.

Matthews told CNN that he attributed to the mushrooms the fact of "really saving my life".

He had been a cadet at the US Military Academy when he had developed a major depression and received a medical discharge.

"My life had collapsed under my feet," he said.

After years of suffering and not finding a solution, Matthews said his friends had introduced him to psilocybin mushrooms.

"The positive effects lasted weeks and weeks and weeks," he said. "I felt pretty isolated and alone and until then, I could not see the love all around me."

Decriminalize Denver, writes on its website, "Humans have been using these mushrooms for thousands of years for healing, rites of passage, spiritual vision, community building and awareness,"

The group also argues that "an arrest is too much for a thing with risks as low and manageable for most people, compared to its potential profits".

The initiative received endorsement from the Denver Green Party and the Colorado Libertarian Party.
In January, Decriminalize Denver announced that it had collected nearly 9,500 signatures and handed over documents to the Denver Elections Division for the initiative to be put on the ballot.
At the time, Jeff Hunt, vice president of public policy at Colorado Christian University, told KMGH, an affiliate of CNN, that he had opposed the decriminalization of magic mushrooms in the city. He said that the order could discourage tourists from coming to town.

"Denver is fast becoming the global capital of illicit drugs," Hunt said. "The truth is that we have no idea of ​​the long-term effects of these drugs on the health of Colorado residents."

The voting initiative will build on previous efforts regarding drug orders. In 2005, the city became the first major city in the United States to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Scott McLean and Chris Boyette from CNN contributed to this report.

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